RISE OF THE RONIN: TEAM NINJA GOES OPEN WORLD
7.5 of 10 bananas. Team Ninja's sharp, parry-heavy swordplay set loose in a sprawling Bakumatsu Japan. The fighting sings, the open world mumbles.
By the Alpha. PS5 game listing. Updated Oct 19 2026.
Honest note: This is not a fresh hands-on playtest. I built this verdict from launch reviews, critic consensus, update history, and what is known about the game today. If I put real hours in on stream, I will update the score and say so.
Platforms: The Amazon button is the PS5 disc (Team Ninja, Koei Tecmo and Sony, released March 22 2024). It is also on PC through Steam, released in 2025; this page sells the PS5 disc only. No Xbox version. At my Oct 19 check the offer came from a third-party seller, shipped by Amazon, at 36.99 dollars, so check the seller before you pay.
Get Rise of the Ronin for PS5 on AmazonSit with me a moment. Team Ninja made Nioh, Ninja Gaiden, and a lot of my broken controllers. When they announced an open world samurai game, I sharpened my patience along with my katana.
What It Wants To Be
You play a masterless warrior in Japan in the 1850s and 1860s, when Commodore Perry's black ships arrive and the country splits between shogunate loyalists and rebels. You travel Yokohama, Edo, and Kyoto, meet real historical figures, and choose sides in missions that shift relationships. Combat uses stances, a counterspark parry, firearms, and a grappling hook, and you can glide with a cloth glider. Story missions can be played in co-op.
What Works
The combat is the reason to come. Counterspark, the parry, feels great once you learn its timing, and swapping weapon styles to counter each enemy type keeps fights tactical. Boss fights and duels against named swordsmen are the high points. The era is rarely covered in games, and meeting historical figures from both sides is genuinely interesting. Difficulty settings make it far more approachable than Nioh. Critics put it in the mid seventies on aggregate.
What Breaks
Listen well. The open world is the weak half. Its map is full of icon checklists, the towns look dated next to other PS5 games, and performance at launch was uneven. The story juggles so many historical figures that few of them land. Loot drops constantly, and much of it is junk you sell in menus. It is a great Team Ninja combat game wrapped in an average Ubisoft-style open world.
Who Should Play
Play it if you love parry-based sword combat, Team Ninja games, or the Bakumatsu era. Skip it if you want a polished, modern open world. Ghost of Tsushima or Ghost of Yotei suit that better.
STRENGTHS
- Excellent parry-based combat
- Great duels and bosses
- Rare historical setting
- Approachable difficulty options
HONEST COSTS
- Checklist open world
- Dated visuals in towns
- Crowded, thin story
- Third-party seller at my check
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